An Internet service provider (“ISP”) typically will employ an access network to allow subscribers access to the ISP's core network, and from there, to the Internet. A typical access network will employ a plurality of aggregation devices, each of which serves multiple subscribers and functions to aggregate the individual subscriber connections (e.g., local loops) into a single, higher-bandwidth connection to the access network. For example, in a digital subscriber line (“DSL”) network, a DSL access multiplexor (“DSLAM”) multiplexes connections for multiple subscribers into a single, high-capacity uplink to the provider's core network.
In most implementations, an ISP will offer different classes of service, with varying performance parameters (bandwidth, latency, etc.), which can be selected by a subscriber depending on the subscriber's applications and budget. Generally, such services can be categorized as “business class” and “residential class.” Within those general categories, several different tiers might be offered, each having different performance parameters. In general, business class service provides the subscriber with higher performance guarantees and more management capabilities and, correspondingly, is accompanied by higher fees.
In most networks, a single aggregation device (e.g., a DSLAM) is not used to serve both business and residential subscribers. Instead, an ISP will offer multiple DSLAMs in a given area, with one (or more) being dedicated to residential class service and one (or more) being dedicated to business class. The reason for this duality is that it is difficult to employ a single DSLAM for these disparate types of access. Instead, a business class DSLAM will be configured with advanced Quality of Service (“QoS”) and management capabilities, with plenty of excess capacity to ensure guaranteed bandwidth to business class customers, while a residential class DSLAM will be tasked with providing access to the greatest possible number of subscribers at the lowest possible rates.
This situation results in suboptimal utilization of the ISP's network resources (including, in particular, the aggregation devices themselves). The business class DSLAM generally will be undersubscribed, in order to meet performance guarantees, while the residential DSLAM (which might also be undersubscribed) has little ability to offer any type of guaranteed performance tiers to the subscribers (so as to encourage subscribers to upgrade to different tiers) or to differentiate between different subscribed performance characteristics. It some cases, is possible to offer differing performance tiers based on setting QoS priorities, but even then, the ISP has no control relative to guaranteeing throughput on a per subscriber basis or controlling the level at which the DSLAM backhaul link (uplink) is oversubscribed at any given point in time.
Thus, there is a need for access solutions that provide more robust and flexible utilization of network resources.